A Canker in a Hedge
by Cute Gallifreyan
Summary: [Spoilers Last of the Time Lords]The Master's thoughts as he faces off against the Doctor. Inspired by a quote from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.


**A Canker in a Hedge **

_I had rather be a canker in a hedge than a rose in  
his grace, and it better fits my blood to be  
disdained of all than to fashion a carriage to rob  
love from any: in this, though I cannot be said to  
be a flattering honest man, it must not be denied  
but I am a plain-dealing villain._

_Much Ado About Nothing: William Shakespeare _

"I forgive you…" The Doctor whispered into his ear. He glared at the Doctor; he did not want his pity. Leave it to Theta and his piety, his holier-than-thou approach. It made him sick inside. Grabbing the transmat/vortex manipulator he pushes it the Doctor grabbing hold of him and transmatting them to a position upon the Earth.

"Now it ends Doctor…..Now it ends!" He states and a crack of lighting dances across the sky. He has longed for this moment once and for all. The drums pounding within his head, _boom_ **kill** _boom_ **destroy** _boom,_ his hearts match the beating of the drums. Raw power. The power that he saw as a young child, ages ago upon Gallifrey._ I don't want your pardon. I don't want your love. I don't want your pity and I don't want your friendship._ _I stand alone Doctor. Alone. Alone against you…_

"We've got control of the Valiant, you can't launch." The Doctor says to him.

"Oh, but I've got this." He raises up the device in his hands, "Black hole converter inside every ship. If I can't have this world, Doctor, then neither can you! We shall stand upon this Earth, together, as it _burns_!" He knew very well of what the Doctor did to Gallifrey, there home. He caused it to burn. Can he so easily watch a planet which he clearly cares for more than his home, his true home, to burn?

The Doctor advances upon him, "Weapon, after weapon, after weapon. All you do is talk, and talk, and talk. But over all these years... and all these disasters, I've always had the greatest secret of them all. I _know_ you. Explode those ships, you kill yourself... that's the one thing you can never do."

He glares at him, and the truth of the Doctor's words stings him in the face. Regeneration after regeneration, it was the one weakness that he has and the Doctor flings it in his face. The venomous hate rises to fever pitch along with the pounding drums.

The Doctor is almost upon him, "Give it to me…" He glances at him coldly and hesitates. It is all the time that he needs and they struggle over the device. Suddenly the Doctor pushes the transmat and they are back aboard the Valiant.

They are pulled into a whirlwind of a temporal storm and the Doctor yells out, "Everybody get down, time is reversing." The Doctor holds onto him firmly not giving way. He smiles lightly, so much for so called forgiveness.

The storm subsides and the Doctor states, "The Paradox is broken, we've reverted back. One year, one day. Two minutes past eight in the morning"

Leave it to the Doctor to be so sure of himself now that he has gained a victory. He refuses to let it get to him though. He will not show anguish at his defeat and he stands defiantly before everyone, even as the Doctor has restrained him.

The voice of UNIT is heard on the radio, "This is Unit Central. What's happened up there? We just saw the President assassinated!"

The Master smirks, good that pompous windbag, President Winters wasn't restored. The Doctor may have been able to fix most things but he couldn't prevent the assassination of the President.

The Doctor says in a low tone, "Just after the president was killed but before the spheres arrived. Everything back to normal, planet Earth restored. None of it happened. The rockets, the terror that never was."

Martha then asks, "What about the spheres?" He mimics her words silently. God; can this woman really be that dense? Why the Doctor chose her as his companion is beyond him.

"Trapped at the end of the universe," The Doctor states. 'Duh' he mouths and the Doctor gives him a nasty glance, that states, be nice or else.

"But I can remember it." Francine Jones mentions. He wonders, will this stupid thickness never end?

"We were at the eye of the storm. We're the only ones that will ever know."

The Doctor then lets go of him for a moment and grins good naturedly at Mr. Jones and extends his hand, "Oh Hello you must be Mr. Jones. We've never actually met."

He grins and makes a dash for it but is suddenly restrained by Captain Jack Harkness, the big goon. If only he had his laser screwdriver, he'd kill him, a good thousand times for good measure. "Woah big fellow, you don't want to miss the party. Cuffs." A guard that was once his, hands Jack a pair of cuffs. He looks sourly at Captain Jack as the cuffs are put on him and Jack says, "So what do we do with this one?"

He grins he knows the answer from the humans. "We kill him…" Mr. Jones states.

"We execute him. " Tish Jones says coldly.

The humans want their pound of flesh and he's not unwilling to give it. He feeds off their hate and their anger and he uses it to his own advantage. He'd figure a way out of this, yet.

The Doctor says firmly, "No. That's not the solution."

He is amused, still the Doctor is the ever pacifist, still willing to grant him mercy.

Francine Jones takes up a gun and points it at him. He smiles back at her waiting. He really does bring out the worst in people. "I think so, because all those things, they still happened because of him. I saw them."

He encourages her. He wants to see how Francine Jones can shoot him down and murder him. Even though he can regenerate, he watches with a pure sadistic joy at her wanting revenge. "Go on… do it."

The Doctor is at her side and says in a soft tone, "Francine… you're better than him." She sobs and drops the gun.

He smiles, pitiful. He then speaks, "You still haven't answered the question. What happens to me?"

The Doctor states firmly as if there is still a council of Time Lords, "You're my responsibility from now on. I am the only Time Lord left in existence."

Jack speaks with alarm in his voice, "Yea, but you can't trust him."

He smiles, smart boy. And the Doctor responds, "No. The only safe place for him is the TARDIS."

He glares at him, what a foul punishment indeed to be held by the Doctor for eternity. "You mean you're just going to…keep me." The very idea is odious in his mind.

The Doctor says as if the idea isn't completely agreeable but knowing that he only has one choice, "Hmm, that's what I could do. Its time to change, maybe I have been wandering for too long. Now I have got somebody to care for."

He makes a face, _care for!! _Like he was a pet or a dog, of all the arrogant things to say. He stares his hypnotic gaze upon Lucy and she moves forward picking up the gun. He would never stand for this. And Lucy fires the gun. He feels the pain and welcomes it as he begins to collapse and the Doctor bears him down to the ground, "There you go, I've got you. I've got you."

"Put it down…" Jack commands Lucy and she does, looking quite dazed and confused.

He is now in the Doctor's arms staring up at him, and he states faintly "Always the women."

"I didn't see her..."

He smiles. No the Doctor never sees anything, "Dying in your arms.. happy now?"

"You're not dying, don't be stupid. It's only a bullet, just regenerate.

"No." The words come out willingly this time. It's the one thing that will make the Doctor miserable, a thorn in his side for all time.

"One little bullet, _come on_." The Doctor pleads.

Now to hit the Doctor where it hurts the most, **"**I guess you don't know me so well... I _refuse_."

He watches as the Doctor begs to him to regenerate, "Regenerate. Just regenerate! Please, please! Just regenerate, come on!"

"And spend the rest of my life imprisoned with you!?"

Just seeing the pain worm its way into the Doctor's hearts is worth seeing, "But you've got to... come on... It can't end like this. You and me, all the things we've done... Axons, remember the Axons? And the Daleks? We're the only two left... I've no one else. REGENERATE! "

He chuckles, how about that, to think that this hurts the Doctor more than all his grandiose schemes. He really ought to die more often. "How about that? I win…." Like a game of chess, he plays the final piece, checkmating the Doctor. He sees the tear come down the Doctor's cheek. He then asks, "Will it stop, Doctor? The drumming... will it stop?" He feels the drumming subside in his head and he smiles taking his last breath, his revenge is complete, the Doctor forever tormented by his dying and leaving him alone…

**XXXXX**

**A/N: ****Okay I wanted to do a thought pattern of the Master. Because he really is a villain for no other reason but to just exist as a villain with no redeeming virtue in him, even in his last moments, he still hurts and pains the Doctor. I chose this particular quote from Shakespeare, it describes the character of Don John, the prince's evil bastard half-brother, but it fits the Master to a tee. None of this belongs to me of course; Shakespeare belongs to Shakespeare and, Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I am just happy to play with their characters. Hope you like this and will grace me with a review or two. **


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